Another Way To Look At The Flat Earth Debate.

I am reminded of the old joke about the English professor and the boatman ferrying him across the Ganges whenever I come across the Flat Earth debate on Vaishnava websites. Having knowledge is one thing, but if it can't be practically applied, it is useless. It would make no difference to anyone trying to practice bhakti-yoga whether the Earth was round, flat, spiral or pyramidal. Using such 'knowledge' to prove a point or score points for that matter is an exercise in pedantry. The art of practicing bhakti-yoga remains the same regardless of the geometry of Earth. 

Even more humorous is how various scientific arguments are misused, either incorrectly or out of context. For example "vanishing point" is a 2D concept illustrating when three-dimensional geography is represented on a two-dimensional plane – say, a drawing of the view looking down a straight road with buildings that progressively get smaller and smaller until they disappear. The vanishing point has nothing to do with ships sinking below the horizon in the distance as they leave port. That is a 3D effect, not 2D! And I don't know how those flat-earth trains manage to continue running on tracks that merge in the distance! 

Rather than beginning with jargon which sounds more like a thesis being submitted for a Masters Degree than an internet blog on spirituality – I'll just say this...

The easiest way to measure the curvature of the Earth is to observe the distance at which objects disappear below the horizon. For the purposes of demonstrating this, let's assume that the Earth is perfectly spherical with a radius of 6,378.137 kilometres and the height at which distant objects is obscured is expressed as 

                   h₁ = √[(d₀ - [√h₀ √[h₀ + 2 R]])² + R²] - R8

[trust me - I'm no mathematician, and have no idea what all this gobbledygook means. It's factual enough, but I just thought it looked impressive.] 

Now if we take a body of 'flat' water such as a lake (or the Suez Canal at 102 miles/164km or the Panama Canal at 48 miles/77km) we have a relatively calm, waveless surface to conduct our experiment. At one end we have a strong waterproof LED lamp mounted at water level. We need to take into account that even on the clearest day the atmosphere will limit visibility somewhat. 

Then we proceed to travel away from the light in a craft, seated  so that our eyes are three feet above water level. At some point (actually 2.121 miles) the horizon will begin to obscure the low part of the lamp. We can repeat the experiment altering the relative heights but until we eventually either run out of room or aren't able to get high enough, we will always observe the lamp disappearing below the horizon. 

There will be some optical distortion at greater distances due to light bouncing and refracting off the water and the humid air above it. Another method, which counters this, is to set markers at a given height above water level in a straight line every mile or so. Then with a telescope at a good distance you will observe differing heights. The markers further away will appear lower due to the curvature of the Earth similar to the way a ship 'sinks' as it drops below the horizon as it recedes into the distance. 

Arguing that the surface is perfectly flat and level (which in fact it isn't because of the curvature of the Earth) and that the "vanishing point" is causing the lamp to be obscured (or the ship to 'sink') is terribly illogical thinking. If the surface (Earth) was truly flat, the lamp would remain visible regardless of how high or low our vantage point is - up to 10 miles for even just one candlepower! In fact, if we jumped into the water, according to the Flat Earth theory we still see the lamp no matter what distance! With our eyes 6" above water though, the horizon would start to obscure the lamp less than a mile away. At 2 miles our eyes would need to be 3' above sea level. And so on. 

Anyway...

So, in one of my many information gleaning excursions I came across this gem regarding Astrology, not entirely unrelated because it deals with cosmology:
here (http://vedicastrology.wikidot.com/physical-astronomy-and-surya-siddhanta)

(like me, you'll probably speed-read or flip through the highly technical parts - but it's well worth persevering with!)

Without entering into whether or not this is valid Vaishnava scripture, it poses some interesting food for thought. We've all heard the various arguments of Jyotish versus Western Astrology, Tropical vs Sidereal, etc but here's another one: a system, Surya Siddhanta, that uses the "divine positions" of each planet's Deity or Demigod rather than the physical positions of the planets. It reasons this is why traditional Jyotish is faulty and therefore fails sometimes.

These 'Divine positions' are often any number of miles, kilometres, yojanas (or whatever) different from each planet's observed measurable position. For instance Divine Meru is reckoned to be some 28.9 km above the peak of physical Mt. Meru! 

Furthermore, the formulae for calculation Divine positions is never published or made public, for it is only passed down orally in the traditional guru-disciple system.

And it reasons that during dissolution of material universes as Lord Brahma is sleeping, this is how time is calculated in the absence of any physical planets.

Now do I have your attention? Thought so! Go to the linked article and read on. 

Apparently the physical Mt Meru is in Africa. That line running through the middle of the map is the Equator, centre of the Earth, with Mt Kenya and Meru either side of it (if you're impatient, go straight to the section "Ancient Cosmogony and Geography" which contains the Sanskrit origins of these African place names).  

The joke:

An English Professor was visiting India. He wanted to go from one side of the Ganges River to the other so he approached a Boatman who agreed to take him across.

 On the way the Professor said, "Tell me, Boatman - what do you know about literature?"

The Boatman said, "Oh not much. I'm just a boatman and I'm illiterate."

The Professor said, "Well then, 10 percent of your life is wasted. Tell me then, what do you know about mathematics?"

The Boatman replied, "Oh, not much, just basic arithmetic. I can only count to a hundred."

The Professor said, "Well then, 20 percent of your life is wasted. Tell me then, what do you know about philosophy?"

The Boatman said, "Oh not much. I'm just a boatman."

The Professor said, "Well then, 30 percent of your life is wasted.

Then the wind picked up, and the river's waters became greatly agitated. The Boatman struggled against the current. The Boatman looked over his shoulder and saw ominous storm clouds gathering in the sky. All of a sudden thunder and lightning broke out. He started to worry that they weren't going to make it to the other side. 

The Boatman turned to the Professor and said, "Tell me Professor, what do you know about swimming?"

Horrified, the Professor screamed, "Nothing! I can't swim!" at which point the Boatman yelled:

"Then 100% of your life is wasted!"

Guru - false or fake?

As a self-taught astrologer, I am duty-bound to list my limitations.

I have tried to garner wisdom from the ancients, the seers, the mystics, the prophesisers so disparaged by societies both modern and passed.

I cannot, and hesitate, to try to pass judgement on all the knowledge ascertained by such methods. But I dare say:

All these things, afore ye judged, they are written in the stars - "As above, so below".

Notwithstanding, I hereby shall attempt, by the grace of God, to describe certain astrological phenomena and the meaning thereof.

Firstly:
In regards to the argument of the physical position of the planets and the subsequent reckoning of them, either tropical of sidereal, there are other planes and criteria for which they can be reckoned. For it is stated in the Surya Siddhanta the physical positions of the planets is different to the otherwise ephemeral positions used to ascertain certain events, to whit:

During the night of Brahma, how is time reckoned whist He is sleeping? 

If the mundane Material World is dissolved, how can such mundane time be otherwise measured?

Lo, it is by the Surya Siddhanta, the divine positions of non-material planets and the demigods thereby residing that they shall be correctly reckoned. Mere observation and calculation with the telescope is not sufficient to determine the spiritual positions of the demigods of said planets; indeeed they cannot be reckoned with ordinary mundane telescopes or calculations. The formulae for discovering these Divine Influences can only be arrived at through the Surya Siddhanta.

And so, the argument ensues: is there any validity to Western Tropical astrology; or for that matter, Eastern Sidereal Astrology? One can argue that both have lost their way. And yet, it is perhaps annoying that several items of potential pecuniary interest arise.

Please send $25 to whoppowhaka@xmail.communist to get full benefit of scam, ha ha

Pardon me, sorry for that advertising. But it remains true, send money to a charlatan and they will no doubt give you a reading. Say what?
"you are disturbed. You are feeling anxious. I have magic oil to cure. Twenty-five dollars."
Otherwise....
"pay me some money and I will make you into God. Then, our business is finished."

Climate Lies

I find it very hard to listen to lies and untruths.

Coral reefs all over the world have undergone many global cooling and warming events and "survived" (adapted). It is estimated that the Great Barrier Reef formed as much as eight or ten thousand years ago, sometime soon after the last glaciation. Since then global temperatures have risen and fallen many times. Each time, corals all around the world swap the "wrong-temperature" symbiotic algae to make way for "right-temperature" ones. This process happens regardless of whether the temperature increases or decreases. In fact, most bleaching events have historically been due to COLD climate change - because the global temperatures when they first formed thousands of years ago were a lot warmer then.

All of these prior climate events are natural and have absofuckinglutely nothing to do with fossil fuel emissions and Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warming (CAGW = we are all going to die from man-made climate change!). I am not going to sit there and listen to some stupid ill-informed greenie hate speech that is based on a lie. The GBR isn't dead and it certainly wasn't killed by the "Wanker Government". It will adapt and continue to survive like it has for thousands of years, unlike the greedy ecotourism industry based around it.

Most climate change is caused by Milankovitch Cycles, i.e. changes in the (1) eccentricity of the Earth's orbit - 100,000 years;(2) axial tilt of the Earth - 41,000 years; and (3) precession of the Equinoxes - about 24,000 years... (http://www.indiana.edu/~geol105/images/gaia_chapter_4/milankovitch.htm) as well as atmospheric disturbances from (a) volcanic activity due to techtonic plate movements, (b) meteor impacts, (c) sulphur spews from the deep ocean floor, (d) sunspot 11-year cycles, (e) bushfires, and (f) human interference eg pollution, CFC's, aerosols, carbon dioxide emissions, blah blah blah.

It is estimated that Milankovitch Cycles (this is what causes the Ice Ages, five so far at last count) are by far are the main determining factor and that at most, human factors contribute less than 2%. Even if all the 197 countries reached their Paris Agreement targets (which they won't!) it would only reduce the global temperature by a fraction of a degree in 2050. Many top meteorologists and climatologists have either been relieved of their positions or quit in disgust because they refuse to peddle the bullshit about CAGW.

Judith Curry is a good place to start in case you don't know what I'm talking about. Dr. Roy Spencer is another great example. But don't stop there.. if you look, there are many.

97% of climatologists agree that the climate is changing. What they don't agree on is why. Only a minority believe that humans are the main cause and it is those who are used to push the agenda behind all this fake greenie bullshit. It's called the Messiah Complex. The fools delude themselves into thinking they are beautiful people because they are saving the world. Okay then, don't have anything to do with fossil fuels. Take off those plastic sunglasses. Don't wear synthetics. Don't drive a car or use a computer or a mobile phone or live in a house. All these things are manufactured by using fossil fuels and/or the power generated by them. Messiah Complex!

An Exercise In Logic - Science Isn't Everything!

There are two types of matter - gross and subtle. Science works because of the phenomena exhibited by all matter - but mainly the gross type - that is detected by the human sense organs. Hypotheses are tested by experiments, from which are gathered observations, measurements, and data. That is what is known as the 'Scientific Method'. If enough hypotheses collectively point towards a single idea, it then becomes a Theory of Such-and-such. When a theory or set of theories cannot be disproved and holds up time and time again to vigorous testing and experiments without ever failing, it then and only then becomes a Law of Physics.

Science cannot prove/disprove anything that can't be observed, measured, or quantified. No phenomenon, no science... So a conscientious scientist (note the word similarity!) will  always say that an unknown factor cannot be proven - and never rightly  say that it doesn't exist.

God. The existence of the Soul. The transcendence of spirit. Ghosts. Magic disappearing trick.  Aliens.

Well, maybe not aliens. All the others cannot be turned into data because there is no gross matter to be turned into data - only subtle matter. Mind you, some things exist by dint of the absence of anything - shadows, silence, hear-heatedness for example. But they can still be quantified because of that absence and they can be therefore observed to exist.

Back to Aliens - no - I mean the other four. A scientist who says there is no such  thing as God is in fact an atheist, not a scientist. Anyone who can't perceive their own soul is merely unenlightened, not an expert in knowledge. And so on and so forth. Of those mentioned, a ghost is different in that it has a subtle body (not a gross one). The soul and God etc are purely spiritual energy, not material - although the soul takes on a gross material body  at birth. And who can tell which Holy Person is transcendent and who is a charlatan?

I read somewhere that there nine times as many ghosts as there are people on the planet. Wow! And that EVERYBODY except the spiritually pure has at least one ghost meddling with their life and leeching off their energy. Some Scriptures say that certain types of death (suicide, sudden accidents, drug overdose etc) cause disembodied ghosts because they don't reincarnate straight away - perhaps not realising that they're dead - but instead hover on the subtle material plane, unable to experience sense pleasure due to lack of a body. So they prey on vulnerable victims and feed off their physical, emotional and mental energy.

Now, you're not going to get a scientist to easily measure a ghost. Maybe the ghost knows what's going on and decides not to show up. They like to play tricks. Which reminds me - maybe alien spaceships have sensors that can detect cameras aimed at them. That would explain why there are some 4 billion smartphones all over the planet, yet no-one can manage a single, sharp, focussed picture of a UFO!

Ok, back to ghosts. Practically all religions acknowledge their existence yet they vary a lot on the amount of information they can provide. Ever lost something and had it turn up days later in a place you looked a hundred times? Ghost. Ever seen someone in the corner or your eye only to turn around and find it was a jacket hanging on a hook or a towel dumped on the floor? Ghost. Ever done something or said something completely out of character and then wondered why you did that? Ghost...

Not all ghosts can move things or make themselves visible (it takes a tremendous amount of energy to do that when you don't have a physical body) but telepathy is easily accessible to them, being a form of subtle energy in itself. They feed off bad vibes, negative emotions, rotten food, slime, gunk, dusty dirty places, anything decaying or decadent - including pornography and other perverted practices such as bestiality, necrophilia, etc. I think your getting the general picture.

&Cleanliness is next to Godliness&. Hence the saying never could be truer! We are at our most vulnerable when overly emotional, either upset or angry etc, intoxicated, half asleep, sick or any similar  time when our guard is down. Even your best friends, loved ones and family can come back to haunt you because of their envious nature. After all you've got what they want (and lack - a body!) and they already have a strong connection to you from the past. Having said that, not all are nasty, some can be quite nice, and of course there are are your guides, guardian angels and benevolent spirits that help and protect you in so many ways. That is because they chose to be what they are and aren't resentful from being forced to be disembodied and not able to enjoy sense gratification. Not having a body and the senses that come with it is why they're always trying to get into someone else's.

References:

https://billyandanuttama.wordpress.com/2016/07/24/dont-feed-the-ghosts/

http://www.prabhupadanugas.eu/news/?p=48254#comment-50471

http://www.experienceproject.com/stories/Like-Details-Of-God-Of-Death/2968673

http://www.veda.harekrsna.cz/encyclopedia/ghosts_FAQ.htm

http://www.sanskritimagazine.com/indian-religions/hinduism/phenomena-ghosts-true-vedic-explaination/

http://www.vedicwisdom.com/blackmagic/black_magic_faq.php

http://haribhakt.com/demon-attack-during-sleep-treated-with-vedic-mantras-sleep-paralysis-treatment-and-facts-fighting-the-evil-spirits-successfully/

http://www.hknet.org.nz/ghosts-garudapuran.htm

http://www.arogyayurvedichealth.com/vedic__hindu_articles/on_phenomena_of_ghosts_a_true_vedic_explanation

My first brilliant teacher, Itiel Bereson.

If anyone wants to know who first set my mind on fire, it was my Form 2 (or 3?) History teacher at Glen Waverley High School, Itiel Bereson. He wrote our textbook for that year "England: Yesterday and Today". He would walk into class, and instead of taking up the usual position (a seat behind the teacher's desk) he would sit on the front of the desk, directly opening himself up to the audience's criticism. He did not hide behind the veil of teacher authority, but instead welcomed all his students to savour the wealth of information that he had.

Obviously he was blessed with a fabulous memory, so necessary for comprehending history, and because he wrote our textbook would rock up completely unarmed, sit on top of the desk, and start talking, right off the top of his head.

What a brilliant mind and an inspirational teacher.

I was so chuffed when he wrote in my report book "Sam is a pleasure to teach". Why? Because I had my eyes and ears  glued to him, never caused a disruption in class, and paid 100% attention to him. I thoroughly enjoyed learning for the first time in my life.

He understood how humanity has a good side and a bad side. Instead of telling us what happened in history, he would set the scenario before a monumental event and then ask us to suggest why civilisation would react or take a course of action.

What he was teaching was actually philanthropy under the guise of Man's history. But what better way to do it other than judging Mankind by the record of his actions?

At once, I understood that all people have a choice in how they behave, and that they have to live with the results of their actions. This was painfully apparent in how certain historical decisions panned out, be they good or bad.

He didn't preach morality. He said - this was what was in front of them, this is what they chose to do, and this is what resulted. What a brilliant teacher. In order to understand history, one first has to understand what drives Mankind.

Itiel passed in 2016. Hare Kṛṣṇa हरे कृष्ण may God bless you and deliver you to the beautiful future that you deserve.

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/obituaries/teacher-shared-his-passion-for-history-20170405-gve5to.html